View: Triple defensive blow could see West Ham revive former David Moyes favourite
West Ham could be without three of their four central defenders when they host Sheffield United on Monday evening and a tactical reshuffle could be on the cards.
The biggest blow will surely come in the form of Angelo Ogbonna’s absence after the club website revealed he suffered a sprained ankle against Manchester United on Tuesday and will spend time in a protective boot to minimise further damage.
West Ham also said they are waiting for confirmation that Issa Diop will be given the go-ahead to play on Monday after he was also forced off at Old Trafford with suspected concussion after replacing Ogbonna.
To rub further salt in the wounds Fabian Balbuena is a doubt after suffering a thigh strain before the game.
That means the Irons could potentially be without three centre-backs, leaving only Watford loanee Craig Dawson as a recognised option.
Dawson has been an absolute colossus in the Hammers backline since making his debut against Southampton on December 29, helping to keep five clean sheets in his 10 appearances.
As good as he is he cannot do it all on his own.
Frederik Alves was named on the bench at Old Trafford but he is yet to make a senior appearance in England since arriving from Danish side Silkeborg in December and he was red carded in one of his three U-23 outings.
It is highly unlikely he would be thrown in at the deep end so it begs the question – just how will the Hammers line up against Fulham and indeed further fixtures, if their trio of centre-backs remain sidelined?
Well Tuesday’s extra-time loss may have provided us with out first clue.
After Diop was substituted to join Ogbonna in the treatment room David Moyes reshuffled his pack and adopted a five-man defence to combat the early spate of injuries.
Full-backs Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal tucked inside to flank Dawson in the centre of defence with Ben Johnson and Ryan Fredericks coming on to occupy the wing-back roles (left and right respectively).
This was an alien position to Coufal but with his superb defensive instincts we think this is a job he can perform with aplomb.
Cresswell, meanwhile, is no stranger to lining up on the left-hand side of a back three as he was a regular in this position before Arthur Masuaku’s injury forced Moyes to change his formation and adapt his tactics.
Incidentally, Masuaku is reportedly three weeks away from returning to first-team action so if this is a longer-term solution then it could be coming at the right time with the DR Congo international a shoo-in to resume left wing-back duties.
As it is 21-year-old Johnson is likely to be required to fill in here but if his performance at Old Trafford is anything to go by he is more than ready for the task after he produced an energetic display down the left after his introduction.
According to Wyscout West Ham have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 49% of the time in the Premier League this season while adopting a 5-4-1 formation in 21% of their league outings, so the latter is still well known to the team and clearly one Moyes feels can work.
Reversing away from a formation that has served the Irons so well over recent months is a risky move but Moyes might feel is necessary to ensure the team preserve their defensive solidity that has seen them concede just six times in their last 11 games.
We hope Ogbonna, Diop and Balbuena recover as soon as possible but we have complete faith in Coufal and Cresswell as two of our most dependable figureheads to do a job in their absence.
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